Review of Marsvin

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass while the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

The deck is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin. The core material in the sandwich construction is balsa.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 4 berths and a galley.

Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.

The Marsvin is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

The Marsvin has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

The Marsvin is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

Marsvin can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.40 - 1.50 meter (4.59 - 4.89 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

DaggerBoard aka Sword

The Marsvin is equipped with a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.

An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case the boat will typically require a power of 3 - 4 hp, alternatively 64 - 77 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Marsvin is 2.25, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Marsvin is about 104 kg/cm, alternatively 584 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 104 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 584 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Marsvin is 12.1 - 14.1.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Marsvin is 2.67.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Marsvin is 58%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Marsvin is 160 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Marsvin with ISO 8666 reference sail is 19.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 22.0.

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Marsvin is 85

As balsa wood is used as sandwich core material special care must be taken in relation to work that require penetration of the sandwich construction in order to to prevent water to get in contact with the balsa wood. Otherwise the balsa wood will eventually rotten and be expensive/impossible to repair.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 18m² (193 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Marsvin it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.